To Love A Beast
by chocodoodle
Summary: "For who could ever learn to love a beast?"   AU Collab with AriSerendipity. I will be writing Damon's POV and she will be writing Elena's.
1. Prologue

_Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar-woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart; and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous Beast - and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?  
>-Disney's Beauty and the Beast<em>

There was a pounding on the door. The wind outside howled and the thunder cracked. Who could possibly be calling at this late hour? Stumbling through the darkened halls, Damon made his way through the house. Reaching the door, Damon pulled it open just as lightning shot across the sky, making him jump. "Who's there?" He called. Out of the shadows, a woman cloaked in red appeared. The cloak concealed her face completely. Damon began shivering as the wind pounded the rain droplets against his body. "What do you want?" His agitation was increasing with each passing second. Where were all the servants? Why had none of them answered the door?

"Please, I need somewhere to stay for the night. Our carriage got stuck, and our horses need rest. We were told we might find shelter here."

Invite strangers into their home? "Look elsewhere." Damon called above the storm.

"We don't know anyone in this town. Please. We have no money, but I do have this..."

A hand shot out passed the folds of the cloak, revealing olive colored skin. In the palm of the hand was a pendant. A rose quartz shaped flower lined in gold. It was exquisite, and Damon found that for a moment, he couldn't look away.

"It's a family heirloom. I would gladly trade it for shelter."

At the mention of bringing these strangers into their home once more, Damon's eyes snapped up and a sneer formed on his face. "I'm sure you can find room at the Inn." From behind the woman, Damon saw movement, revealing what Damon could only assume to be her handmaiden. Dressed in rags, and Damon imagined that the cloaked woman was dressed in the same. Common beggars. Filth.

"Please don't turn us away."

"If you don't get off our property immediately...I'm going to have to involve the authorities." Damon wanted nothing more than to slam the door in her face. The audacity! Showing up in the middle of the night. _They must be from the north_. Damon thought to himself.

"You won't give us shelter?"

If Damon had known what was to become of him, maybe he would have answered differently. Perhaps, he could have been able to find it within himself to be kind. But, Damon didn't know. And with one word, Damon Salvatore sealed his fate. "No."

Suddenly, the cloak fell, revealing the most endearingly brown eyes Damon had ever seen. An audible gasp escaped his lips as his eyes swept over her angelic features. He loved her. Instantly. He wanted to tell her this, apologize...but as his eyes found hers once more, he found that his thoughts began to muddle.

"I didn't want to have to do it this way, but you leave me no choice."

Damon couldn't look away. He was trapped. "Who...are...you?" His voice was barely a whisper. The girl smiled. It both excited and terrified him.

"My name is Katherine Pierce."

Katherine Pierce. That name would never be forgotten. No, it would haunt him for all eternity. Without another word, Katherine lunged at him, her teeth latching onto the fleshy part of his neck. Damon screamed and tried to get away, but she was inhumanly strong. The more he screamed, the worse the pain got. Blackness started creeping in on him, he could feel his body growing weak. Soon, there was no fight left in him, and his hands went limp at his sides. Damon was dying. Something warm and wet hit his lips.

"Drink."

The voice was distant, but hypnotic, and Damon used the last ounce of his strength to open his mouth. The second the liquid hit Damon's tongue, he was doomed. With renewed strength, Damon's hands shot out, gripping tightly. Urgently, he drank, relishing in the feel of the liquid rushing down his throat. It made him feel strong. It made him feel alive. It made him feel-

SNAP.

Darkness.

* * *

><p>Everything hurt. Was this death? Was he dead? No, not dead. It wouldn't hurt so much if he were dead. Groaning, Damon opened his eyes. He still lay in the foyer of his home, the door wide open. Only it was day, and the sunlight streamed in. Raising his hand, Damon shielded his eyes from the rays. With his other hand, he began examining his mouth. His gums hurt. Like there was something inside trying to get out...and he was hungry - STARVING.<p>

"You're in transition."

Jumping to his feet, Damon turned to see the handmaiden from last night sitting on the couch in the parlor. Hesitantly, Damon approached her. "Transition?" Damon gulped. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Yes. Soon you'll be like her."

Like her. Damon remembered the way the girl - Katherine - had savagely bitten into his flesh. His hand flew to his neck, but there was no trace of a wound. Shaking his head, Damon answered. "No...I can't - I'm not...I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's a little late for apologies, Mr. Salvatore."

Katherine appeared before him. Last night she had looked like an angel...today she looked like the devil. Lucifer himself come to steal his soul. Damon began backing up. "I will never be like you." Katherine smirked.

"You already are, dear. Heartless, cold, monstrous..."

"NO!" Damon exclaimed, feeling disgustingly weak for wanting to cry. "I'm not a monster!"

"Oh, you will be."

Following Katherine's words, the house fell into silence. It was too quiet, Damon realized. It must be passed noon, and none of the servants were up. Nor was Stefan anywhere to be found. "What did you do?" Damon began to panic. "Where is my brother?" Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Damon. Stefan will be alright."

Slowly, almost in a predatory way, Katherine crossed the room. Damon had been backing up, and grunted as his back hit the wall. Katherine ran her fingers along the side of his face, making Damon want to recoil.

"You have no idea of the future I have planned for us. You, me, _and_ Stefan."

* * *

><p>Katherine never did reveal the future she had planned. Later that night, she forced the brothers to complete the transition by killing and feeding on two of the house servants. Once the transition was complete, Katherine tried to persuade Damon and Stefan to leave with her. When they rejected her, she had her handmaiden place a curse upon the house and everyone who resided within it.<p>

"An eternity of misery."

She promised them.

"Until you can find it within yourself to truly love someone, and earn their love in return...you will be bound to this house and to this town."

To Damon, this didn't appear to be too severe of a punishment. But as the years passed, and the friends he knew grew old and died, Damon realized just how cruel this punishment was. To watch those you know wither and die while you remained unchanging forever was torturous. In his rage, Damon tried to flee the town, only the experience an excruciating pain that crippled him. Again and again, day after day, Damon tried, but he never made it passed Wickery Bridge. He was trapped. The bitterness festered within him, twisting Damon from the inside out. Nobody was safe from his wrath. Stefan tried to reason with him, begged him to stop, but Damon was too far gone. He tortured and maimed the townsfolk, taking out his anger on any who crossed his path. The people feared him, and began barricading their doors at night. For nighttime was when Damon could roam free. The sunlight kept him indoors during the day, but each sunset unleashed...the beast.


	2. 145 Years Later

_Welcome to Mystic Falls, Population: 1,092._

Elena Gilbert allowed a smile to spread across her features as she drove past the city limit sign. After her first semester at Duke University, Elena was returning home for Christmas. Her entire body hummed in anticipation in seeing her aunt and uncle once again as well as her younger brother, Jeremy after five long months.

Elena briefly wondered if any of her old friends from her primary school years would be returning from their first semester as well. It had been awhile since she had heard from any of them, but that's what happens after high school. You say that no matter what, you're going to remain close with the people that you knew, but your life begins and you begin to lose contact. It was normal, but it didn't upset Elena in some way any less. She had made many new friends at Duke, but she still missed her old ones.

As Elena drove through the small town, she looked around, pleased to see that there was very little change. It was nice to come home to see that everything was just how she'd left it. The same usual sights in their rightful place, the Mystic Grill, her old high school, even the supposedly haunted Salvatore Boarding House. As always, a shiver ran through Elena as she drove past the ominous building. The building had terrified her ever since she'd become old enough to hear the horror stories that everyone would tell about the building.

Elena shook the feeling off as she continued on her drive to her old home, smiling once more at the fact that time had even left her childhood home untouched. She pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine to her black Kia Sorento SUV before climbing out of her car and heading for the front door. She didn't get the opportunity to knock at the door before it was flung open, revealing her aunt Jenna.

"Elena, you're here!" Jenna smiled warmly, pulling her niece into a hug that Elena immediately took comfort in and happily returned. "Welcome home, honey!"

"It's so good to be home," Elena gushed as she hugged her aunt back tightly before pulling away and moving on to her Uncle Alaric and her brother. Elena and Jeremy's parents had died in a car crash almost three years previously and their Aunt Jenna had been the one to put her entire life on hold and took them in. A year later, Jenna married Alaric Saltzman, Jeremy and Elena's history teacher. While most teenagers would be embarrassed about their parent or guardian dating their teacher, Elena couldn't be more thrilled for both of them. Jeremy however had taken a little longer to warm up to the idea, but eventually, he'd come to embrace it.

Elena had spent the first week of her time back with her family, getting ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday, and going out with a few of her old friends from high school. It was shaping up to be a nice visit. She couldn't have foreseen that one day would change everything, not just for her vacation, but for the rest of her life.

The day started like any other day had. Elena had woken up early, ever the early riser and prepared herself for the rest of her day. Today she planned on going into town and doing some general Christmas shopping for her family that she hadn't had a chance to do yet. She planned on making a day out of it then crash at her friend, Bonnie's, for the night.

She awoke bright and early at ten o'clock, and went through her usual routine of showering, dressing and a morning cup of coffee before heading out the front door and into town. It was a beautiful sunny day despite the increasing chill in the air. The kind of day that Elena loved. She let a serene smile spread across her face as she walked along the street, greeting the occasional person that she knew from her childhood.

By one o'clock, Elena had finished her shopping and stepped into the Mystic Grill for a late lunch. She set her bags in a chair at one of the tables before shedding her coat and occupying another chair. She had just picked up her menu and begun looking over it when a familiar voice reached her ears.

"I certainly hope my present is in one of those bags.." spoke the suave, foreign voice that filled Elena's ears and made her roll her eyes before looking up with a polite smile.

"Niklaus," she acknowledged. Nicklaus Mikaelson had been a senior exchange student a few years back when Elena was still a sophomore in high school. He had a reputation of being a cocky womanizer and yet he had girls fawning over him nearly everywhere he went. After Elena had left her awkward gawky years behind in her junior year, Klaus had taken an intense interest in her.

"Ah love, I've told you… call me Klaus," Klaus drawled out, a smirk reaching his baby blue eyes. He turned and motioned for the empty seat that was beside Elena that wasn't full of bags. "May I join you?"

Elena sighed and shrugged her shoulders, knowing that even if she'd told him no, there was no way he would take it as an answer. What would be the harm anyway? Klaus may be a prick… but he was mostly harmless.

"So… when did you get back to town, Elena?" he asked her interestedly.

Elena turned her attention back to her menu, pretending to be highly interested in the description of the Mystic Falls Salad. "About a week ago." She responded before the waitress wandered up to the table. She looked up and smiled at her, "Oh hey Lexi, can I get a-"

"Klaus, is that you?" Lexi, the curvy girl with long blonde hair that Elena had remembered from high school, squealed like a six year old in a candy shop. Elena's eyebrows shot up as Lexi completely ignored her and focused her beady eyes on Klaus, clearly undressing him with her eyes.

Klaus turned his attention away from Elena and grinned wolfishly at Lexi. "Ahh, Alexia… I was wondering when you were going to show up," The quick gaze that Klaus made to Lexi's chest area did not go unnoticed by Elena. She inhaled and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, setting her menu aside. She looked around for her purse. If Lexi was here, that meant that her clones were not far behind.

As if on cue, the loud, obnoxious giggles of Rebekah Smith and Caroline Forbes sounded nearby as the three girls began showering Klaus in attention. Elena took Klaus's momentary distraction to grab her bags and her coat and slinked away from the table and out the door. Once out the door, Elena laughed slightly, shaking her head. Some things clearly never changed.

Elena made her way back to her home and let herself in. After taking her bags up to her room and depositing them on her bed, she wandered back downstairs and headed for the kitchen to make herself some lunch. She reheated some leftover pasta from the night before and deposited herself on the couch and began flipping through the channels. She finally settled on a classic romantic comedy and sat back, happy in her choice to just leave the Grill. It was so much more relaxing and peaceful at home anyway.

* * *

><p>Elena wasn't sure at what point it was when she'd nodded off to sleep on the couch, but the urgent knocking at the front door, made her jump out of her skin. Elena groaned and rubbed her chocolate brown eyes with her fist as the knocking became more urgent and insistent. She grumbled and sat up, switching the tv off and looking at her watch. 8:43 PM. She pulled herself up from the couch, glancing at the windows to see that the sun had already gone down and headed to the front door and pulled it open as there was even more knocking.<p>

"What?" Elena snapped unconsciously and immediately calmed down when she saw who was on the other side. "Oh, Tyler, I'm sorry… you just woke me up."

"I'm sorry, Elena…" Tyler Lockwood, a friend of Jeremy's, said apologetically. "Look… something's happened…"

Elena looked at him and furrowed her brows. "What is it?" she asked, "Is it Jeremy?"

Tyler was frantic, the fear and shame was evident in his dark orbs. "It was all a joke! No one thought anything bad would happen, it was just a stupid dare!"

Elena held up a hand, not understanding. "Tyler! Stop! What happened? What did you dare Jeremy to do?"

Tyler sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His next words made Elena's face pale and her heart to fill with dread. "We dared him to break into the haunted Salvatore Boarding House and come back out with a random item in there… he never came out."

Elena gasped softly and shook her head. "Oh my god…" Elena slid her shoes on and grabbed her purse, shutting the door behind her, running out. "I'll handle this. You just get home."

Elena practically ran to her car, getting in and racing down the road so fast Elena was surprised that she didn't get pulled over. As she approached the ominous building, her heart began pounding erratically in her chest. She pulled into the driveway and fought to control her heart and her erratic breathing. She swallowed thickly before finally getting the nerve to exit her car and make her way up to the front door. She lifted a shaking hand up to the small bell over the door and rang it. She stepped back and studied the house, noticing that not a single light was on. Hesitantly, Elena reached out and tried the door, but groaned when she realized that something was barricading it.

Elena ran a hand through her long brown tresses as she began to walk around the house until she found a broken window that must have been where Jeremy had broken in. She looked behind her before taking a breath and hoisting herself up and pulling herself into the house, landing on the floor in the parlour.

Elena took a look around, taking in everything. In all the horror stories told to her, she never imagined it to actually look this... clean... this... elegant. The furniture seemed like it was from another era... or at the very least belonged on Antiques Roadshow. There was a warm fire burning in the fireplace, casting a brilliant glow all around the room. Elena went over to it and held up her hands, warming them before beginning her search.

"Jeremy?" she called out into the silence as she began looking down the two different hallways. She started walking slowly down one. "Jeremy! Where are you?"

A faint noise caught her ears further down the same hallway that she was in and she quickened her pace as she looked down the adjoining rooms and hallways and Elena silently cursed in her mind. This house was like a maze!

"Jeremy?" It was then that she heard it. It was almost a whisper coming from down an old set of stairs that lead to the basement. It was unmistakably Jeremy's voice though. "Jeremy!" She turned and ran down the stairs, not knowing what she would find when she did.

* * *

><p>Alright guys, that's Inde's (AriSerendipity) update! Let her know what you guys think by reviewing. Also, i'm curious to know your theories on which Beauty and the Beast character each character is representing. These first ones might be pretty obvious, but, let me know what you think!<p>

-Chocodoodle


	3. Breaking and Entering

The years passed too slowly, yet much too quickly. They seemed the drag on, but were gone in the blink of an eye, and Damon's bitterness grew with each passing year. Stefan tried to reason with his brother, plead with him to spare the innocents of Mystic Falls, but Damon simply wouldn't listen to reason. For what place does reason have with madness? Damon had slowly been driven insane, consumed with the grief of their tragic state and the guilt over what his selfishness had condemned his brother to.

As time went on, and the generations came and went, the Salvatore brothers became myth. People stopped talking about the monster and soon forgot, passing Damon's victim's off as "animal attacks". Slowly, any trace of Damon's humanity dissipated, leaving behind only the cruel and twisted parts. When Stefan would try to bring his brother back, Damon would lash out at him. Instead of helping Damon, it only made him kill more and more viciously, almost as if Damon used his victims to prove how monstrous he was. Stefan tried not to give up hope, but his brother had never really been a kind person, even in life. The vampirism seemed to magnify their personality traits, making it a nearly impossibly task to reach his brother's humanity. Soon...Stefan stopped trying.

* * *

><p>"This is lame."<p>

"It's not lame, you're just scared."

"Screw you, dude!"

The voices reached his ears, making Damon lower the book he'd been reading. Narrowed his eyes, he stood up and walked to the window. Pulling the shades apart an inch, he peered out. Three boys crept around the corner, rambling about breaking into his home. _His_ home. Growling, Damon turned on his heels and stormed out of the library.

"What's wrong with you?"

Stefan attempted to stop his brother in the hallway, but Damon shoved passed him. "Don't worry about it." Damon snapped, making for the front door. He could hear Stefan close on his heels, but Damon didn't care.

"I thought you weren't scared."

"I'm not!"

The voices were coming from the kitchen now, and Damon growled once more. Ripping open the kitchen door, he heard the voices move passed the window, rounding the building.

"Who is that, Damon?"

Shoving passed Stefan again, Damon felt the anger boiling inside of him. "I don't know, but they're going to pay for trespassing."

"Because lashing out at our last 'trespasser' went so well for us."

Damon stopped in his tracks and he heard his brother gulp from behind him. His hands twitched at his side and Damon clenched them into fists. Without a word, and without looking back at his brother, Damon started walking once more, snarling as he heard a window breaking.

BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP. BUMP-BUMP.

The human's heartbeat reached Damon's ears, making his mouth salivate. That heart was pumping away fresh blood that Damon intended on tasting. The lounge door opened, and a young boy slipped out. Damon watched him begin walking down the hallway, clinging to the wall and trembling. Damon took a few steps forward. "Breaking and entering?" The boy jumped and his eyes went wide in fear. Damon could feel the veins beneath his eyes darkening, the vampiric features taking over his face. "Didn't your mother teach you manners, boy?" He didn't even have time to scream before Damon pounced, sucking furiously on his neck.

"DAMON! STOP IT!"

He was vaguely aware of his brother's presence in the hallway, and a moment later, he felt Stefan trying to pull him off of the boy. Damon pulled away, blood dripping from his lips, and looked over his shoulder. "He broke into our home, Stefan." The boy was crying and trying to push Damon away.

"So you're just going to kill him? Think, Damon...we've had peace for so long. Why ruin that now?"

"I don't want peace." Damon said, lifting the boy off the ground by his throat. The boy gripped Damon's wrist with boy hands as he began gagging and gasping for air.

"I'm s-so-rr-y."

He managed to choke out. Damon grinned, chuckling softly. "Not yet, you're not."

"Damon, please..."

"Join me, Stefan."

"No, Damon."

Damon groaned. "When's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"

"That's not gonna work, Damon."

Dropping the boy onto the ground, Damon kicked him in the ribs, causing him to yelp and curl into himself. "Come ooon, brother." Damon urged, turning to face his brother. "Don't you crave it? ...I know you do." He said, when his brother didn't answer.

"Stop it. Just stop."

Stefan was caving. Damon could feel it, and he was smiling now while Stefan stared at him nervously. "He's delicious." Damon said, licking his lips appreciatively.

"I don't have to hurt anybody to get blood."

Groaning, Damon felt his temper rising. "You're a _vampire_, Stefan! You're _supposed_ to hurt people! It's who you are now."

"No, Damon. That's who _you_ are now. Being a vampire doesn't mean you're a monster, that's a choice that you made."

"P-Please...don't kill me."

Damon had nearly forgotten about the boy, and he turned on him now, ready to feed again. The boy looked up at him and his eyes bugged out.

"Your-Your-Your face..."

Damon grinned, blood still dripping from his fangs.

"Look...I'm-I'm sorry, okay?"

The boy clutched his stomach as he spoke.

"I'll pay for that window. I promise."

"I don't need your money." Damon growled. Grabbing onto the boy's shirt, Damon lifted him off the floor and the boy began whimpering and trying to fight against his hold.

"Damon..."

"NO! OH, GOD, NO! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE, DON'T! DON'T KILL ME!"

Damon tilted his head. "Kill you? Who said anything about killing you?" Gripping tighter, Damon heard the material of the boy's shirt tearing. "I rather like the idea of having a fresh blood source on hand."

"Damon!"

Damon was laughing now as he turned to face his brother. "You asked me not to kill him."

"Yeah, but I didn't-"

"YOU ASKED ME NOT TO KILL HIM!" Silence engulfed the mansion. The only sound was the whimpering boy in his hands as the two Salvatore brother stared at each other, neither willing to budge. "Go away, Stefan." Damon whispered after he could no longer take the silence. "Go up to your room, lock yourself away and whine to your precious journal about your eternal struggle. You can't irritate your journal with how pathetic you are. _I_, on the other hand, am in complete misery just being around you." Stefan shook his head and sighed.

"The boy, Damon..."

"The boy is not your concern, and I will do with him as I please." Dropping the boy to the floor, Damon used vampiric speed to grab his brother and pin him against the opposite wall. "And don't even _think_ about helping him escape, because I will stake you and then rip his head off."

"You won't do it. You won't kill me."

"Try me." Damon said through gritted teeth. Shoving Stefan away, Damon walked back over to the boy who scrambled on the ground trying to get away. But the boy was injured and Damon was faster. Grabbing onto his wrist, Damon squeezed tight enough that he heard the bones crack, and the boy cried out. Not caring about the boy's pain, Damon squeezed tighter and began dragging him down the hallway towards the basement.

* * *

><p>Sorry about the delay on updating, guys! My grandmother got put into hospice, and although this is something we've known was going to happen for a while now, it still came as a shock, and I couldn't bring myself to write this week. But, here it is, and I hope it didn't suck too bad. Inde says it's great, but, i'm feeling kinda "ehhh" about it. Plus, she's biased since she's my friend. lol. Anyway espholie was the only one to guess about the characters, and you were right, my friend! Obviously, Damon and Elena are Beauty and the Beast, and Klaus is Gaston. The three girls (Lexi, Caroline, and Rebekah) are representing those blonde sluts who fawned over Gaston the entire movie, haha. Next chapter, Inde and I are going to start cutting them in half (she'll write half in Elena's POV and i'll write the other half in Damon's POV), so we'll probably be updating faster than usual since we're tag-teaming it that way. Don't forget to review with questions, comments, theories, or whatever! 3<p>

-Chocodoodle


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